For the first time in its 30 years in power, the African National Congress is projected to fall below 50 per cent of the vote
President of the ruling African National Congress and South Africa n President, Cyril Ramaphosa speaks to the media after casting his vote in Soweto on May 29, 2024 in Johannesburg.After a day of unexpectedly long queues and heavy voter turnout in many regions, South Africa n officials are counting millions of ballots in an election that could determine the fate of President Cyril Ramaphosa and his long-ruling African National Congress .
In the most competitive election race since the end of apartheid in 1994, the ballots on Wednesday featured a record 70 political parties, including 31 newly registered parties, along with 11 independent candidates. Its unpredictable outcome has also sparked a surge of voter interest, seemingly reversing the longstanding decline in turnout, if the early indications were accurate.
Mr. Mamabola cited a “late surge” in voting during the afternoon. “The Commission is pleased with the high turnout at many voting stations across the country,” he said in an early-evening briefing, about three hours before the stations closed. The ANC has been on a steady slide in every election since 2004, when it peaked with almost 70 per cent of the vote. By the 2019 election, it had fallen to 57 per cent. It dropped below the 50 per cent mark in the 2021 local elections, but this week could be the first time it has plunged below that threshold in a national election, forcing it to search for a coalition partner in South Africa’s proportional representation system.
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